This invention relates to serving mulled wine.
Mulled wine is wine optionally containing sugar, herbs, spices and perhaps egg-yolk and other additives, which is heated. Indeed, the invention is concerned with serving any heated beverage that can be supplied in pre-mix form, and in particular, aside from mulled wine, is also concerned with toddies, which usually involve spirits, water and sugar, heated. Thus, for example, sake and fruit cups are also within the scope of the invention.
Customarily, a mulled wine is prepared as a mix and heated in a pan from which it is served by a ladle or by dipping cups, rather as a fruit cup. A toddy is normally prepared as a mix of the various ingredients in a glass to which is added hot water from a kettle.
Neither of these preparation methods is satisfactory from the point of view of dispensing hot beverages in a bar.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for serving mulled wine (which, as mentioned, includes toddy) which avoids the disadvantage of the conventional preparation methods.
The invention comprises a method for serving mulled wine in which a mulled wine mix is supplied from a source connected to a serving tap and heated between leaving the source and being served from the tap.
The mix may be delivered from the source into a standard serving measuring vessel and then heated. By xe2x80x9cstandard servingxe2x80x9d is meant any vessel capacity that may be regarded as a local or statutory standardxe2x80x94a serving of 125 ml is often regarded as a standard wine serving. Servings for hot toddy, of course, could be different.
The vessel may be of the kind known as an xe2x80x9copticxe2x80x9d in which the contents are delivered through the tap while the vessel is closed to the source, and once the contents have been delivered, the tap is closed and a fresh charge admitted from the source. Th e term xe2x80x9copticxe2x80x9d usually implies a glass vessel the action of which can be visually checked and which, in normal use, is subject to inspection by weights and measures inspectors.
The mix may be heated to a predetermined temperature (say 50xc2x0 C.) and may be served from the tap automatically on reaching the predetermined temperature.
The method may use microwave or electric resistance heating. In the latter case, the mulled wine mix may be passed through a heated tube, in which the heating is effected on the flowing mix, or the heating may be effected on the mix while held in a holding vessel. The mix may be delivered into an optic, then discharged therefrom and thence passed through the tube.
The invention also comprises apparatus for serving mulled wine, comprising a heating vessel having a connection to a supply of mulled wine mix and a serving tap, the apparatus being comprised in a bar-top serving format and being adapted to receive a charge of mulled wine mix from the supply thereof into the vessel, there to heat up said charge, thence to deliver the heated charge through the tap.
The connection to the supply of mulled wine mix may comprise a seating for an upturned bottle of mix.
The heating vessel may comprise an xe2x80x9copticxe2x80x9d type vessel.
Thermostatic means may limit the temperature to which the mix is heated.
The apparatus may comprise means to automatically deliver the mix through the tap once heatedxe2x80x94actuated, for example, by the thermostat. A thermostat may, of course, simply give an indication as to when the serving temperature is attained, so that a glass may be presented to the optic for filling in the usual way.
The heating vessel may comprise a flow-through vessel in which the mix is heated as it flows towards the tap. The mix may flow past the inner and outer surfaces of the flow-through vessel. The apparatus may further comprise an optic into which the mix is delivered, the flow-through vessel being adapted to receive the mix when said optic is discharged.
Alternatively, the heating vessel may comprise a holding vessel in which the mix is held whilst being heated.